Day 4 - CSPO

Today was AWESOME! I spent the day with the students at the Cambodian School of Prosthetics and Orthotics. In the morning, I passed out my bag of goodies, and I felt like Santa! They were so pumped about the components. They knew all about what they did, and the textbook answers of advantages and disadvantages, but they hand't seen a carbon fiber foot, or a 4-bar hydraulic knee. One of the things they asked for and I was able to get was 1"Dacron, and within an hour I saw 2 students using it on their patient's AFOs for dorsiflexion stops. It was awesome to have that instantaeous knowledge that I was able to do something. I got a tour of the school and clinic, and I was amazed that besides the lack of air conditioning, the school and lab seems so familiar - like the ones Ive been in. I guess the biggest differences are that they use ICRIC components from the Red Cross, and they use a tan polypropylene for everything (even sockets, which they drape form). The scoket designs were the same - one guy was even making a MAS socket. Most of the students I hung out with were in their 3rd year, which seems to be similar to my residency, except they don't get paid. One of the things that was also very familiar about the school was the comaderie between the classmates. They seemed so close, like our group of 10. And this is after not only spending EVERY day together in either school or clinic, but also sleeping at the school, two to a room. I took pictures of their dorm - they even have a punching bag for getting out frustrations! I love my classmates, but I think that we would hate each other by now if we shared rooms and a kitchen and everything else. They literally are together all the time!
I got to observe several patient fittings, incluing two little girls with CP, one little TF boy, and many adult TT, TF, and polio patients. Ron (the lecturer from the states) said that they used to see all landmine and polio victims, but those have been mostly eradicated. Now they are seeing traffic accident injuries and CP.
The students were all very smart and easy to talk with. They all speak good English - all of their classes are conducted in English because of the international nature of the school. One thing Ron and I talked about a lot was the problems with the ISPO classifications. As a developing nation school, they are a category 2. Programs in the US are category I. Ron says they get an inferiority complex of sorts becuase of the lower category. One student (from Georgia! the country!) explained it to me as a ceiling that they will always hit their head against. Its very interesting becuase I knew about the classifications but had never thought about them. I have mixed feelings - they don't have the same backgrounds as us - no undergrad degrees, no university to monitor their classes. However, they are certainly doing a great job fitting patients. And they see some very difficult patients and problem solve around issues we would never have to encounter. There's no replacement for experience! One thing that I know for sure - it sucks how much it costs to go to Tech. A couple of the students asked me and I couldn't even really bring myself to tell them. It costs even more for international students. Many of these students are supported by their country's or from elsewhere, but $80,000, or even more like the $25.000 I paid out of pocket is outrageous to them. I learned today that Cambodian government employess (teachers, policemen, etc) make only ~200 PER YEAR!
One thing I did get a chance to think about today was how amazing it is that I ended up here. I was bummed when I didn't get asked to go on either of the trips I orginally signed up for. But, as I've seen so much, I can think that I know the best plan for my life. Then God comes in, throws my plan out the window, and I'm bummed for a minute, but then He comes through with something much greater than I could have imagined myself!!